menu_open Columnists

Observer

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Meet the Collector: How Katherine Sachs Became a Convener

For the ArtPhilly founder, collecting has never been about wealth-building or prestige.

yesterday 2

Observer

Chenoa Baker

NADA New York Opens With Fewer Early Sales But Plenty of Potential

During a crowded week of fairs, NADA’s strongest booths found momentum in intimate scale, accessible pricing and dedicated presentations of...

yesterday 1

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Why a Single 5.51-Carat Diamond Commanded $17.3 Million in Geneva

The triangular-cut blue-green stone has a color so improbable that, as the Gemological Institute of America notes in its materials, some might assume...

yesterday 1

Observer

Christa Terry

Meta Didn’t Win Top A.I. Talent With Cash Alone, Says MSL Chief Alexandr Wang

Alexandr Wang says Meta’s compute power and ambitious research culture, not just massive offers, drew elite A.I. researchers from rivals.

yesterday 2

Observer

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

Frieze New York Opens Strong, But the Real Test Is Just Beginning

Perhaps due to the convergence of multiple biennials and general market recalibration, buyers this year seem more attuned to artists with...

yesterday 2

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Gerhard Richter, Franz Kline and the Art Marian Goodman Never Let Go

"Goodman played such a crucial role in shaping the landscape of contemporary art today, so we felt it was important to present her collection in a way...

yesterday 3

Observer

Dan Duray

Where to Stay in Cannes for a Glamorous French Riviera Getaway

This French resort town is home to an array of five-star accommodations, but these are the very best.

yesterday 30

Observer

Morgan Halberg

The Efficiency Trap Inside Corporate A.I. Spending

Leadership expert Nik Kinley examines the organizational risks emerging from the corporate rush to fund A.I. He argues that layoffs tied to A.I....

yesterday 1

Observer

Nik Kinley

The New York City Outdoor Breakfast Spots Worth an Early Wake-Up

Whether you want pancakes in Brooklyn or omelets downtown, these breakfast spots are built for lingering outdoors.

yesterday 2

Observer

Anna Rahmanan

How Elon Musk Would Have Run OpenAI Differently, According to Sam Altman

The OpenAI trial reveals conflicting accounts as Altman says Musk pursued dominance, while Musk argues the company abandoned its nonprofit mission.

previous day 3

Observer

Rachel Curry

How Fashion Exhibitions Became Laboratories for Interdisciplinary Thinking

The Brooklyn Museum's senior curator of fashion and material culture Matthew Yokobosky explains how treating fashion as art can reveal the...

previous day 2

Observer

Matthew yokobosky

Bezos Family Foundation’s $100M Gift to NYC’s Robin Hood Honors Jackie Bezos

A $100 million donation from the Bezos Family Foundation, founded by Jeff Bezos' parents, will create an early childhood endowment in New York City...

previous day 2

Observer

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

Violent Femmes: Must-Read Books by Women That Foreground Brutal Beauty

A new wave of authors is mining the territory between brilliance and ugliness to produce some of the most adventurous and emotionally unsparing...

previous day 2

Observer

Adam steiner

7 Timepieces to Follow in Christie’s Important Watches Sale in Hong Kong

Beyond the headline Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon, the sale will feature notable lots from F.P. Journe, Greubel Forsey, Audemars Piguet, Cartier...

previous day 2

Observer

Caleb anderson

Collector Jennifer Gilbert Is Selling Masterpieces at Sotheby’s to Fund a New Arts Nonprofit in Detroit

The move marks a personal shift from collecting as stewardship to collecting as civic support, with the sale of major works by Joan Mitchell, Kenneth...

previous day 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Where to Eat, Play, Stay and Watch in Toronto for the 2026 World Cup

This multicultural city is famous as a destination for soccer obsessives. Now that it’s officially hosting a World Cup game for the first time,...

previous day 2

Observer

Caitlin White

As New York’s Art Week Kicks Off, Here’s What Not to Miss at Esther III

The fair's third and final edition opened at the Estonian House with intimate and beautifully idiosyncratic displays of mythic objects, speculative...

previous day 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

L.A.’s Most Exciting Restaurant Openings of May

Chef Daniel Patterson is adding a California-focused fine dining experience to Melrose Avenue, and New York City’s Bad Roman is bringing its...

previous day 1

Observer

Allie Lebos

Global Events Are Redesigning National Identity in Real Time

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup and LA28 Olympics approach amid political polarization and cultural fragmentation, Chris Braden, who has led strategic...

tuesday 2

Observer

Chris braden

The 2026 McLaren 750S Spider Is Thoroughly, Deliberately and Delightfully Impractical

The 750S's lack of sensible applications is the entire point of this track-beast-turned-road-car.

tuesday 2

Observer

John Scott Lewinski

Ilya Sutskever Sheds New Light on OpenAI’s Power Struggle in Musk-Altman Case

Testimony from OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever sheds new light on OpenAI’s 2023 leadership crisis amid Elon Musk’s...

tuesday 4

Observer

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

The Top Collections Leading the May Marquee Auctions

More and more, the real competition between major auction houses involves securing single-owner consignments before strategically structuring the...

tuesday 3

Observer

Elisa Carollo

16 Business Leaders to Join Trump on High-Stakes China Trip, With Notable Absences

The White House delegation includes leaders from tech, finance and manufacturing as Washington seeks closer economic talks with Beijing.

tuesday 3

Observer

Rachel Curry

The Legal and Ethical Minefield of A.I.-Driven Employee Surveillance

Zal.ai CEO Kayvon Touran and organizational leadership expert Ben Dattner examine the rapidly expanding use of A.I. in employee monitoring,...

tuesday 2

Observer

Kayvon Touran

The Best Fashion From the 2026 Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet

For 12 days on the Croisette, the world’s biggest stars turned the Cannes red carpet into a showcase for high fashion and old-school glamour.

tuesday 2

Observer

Morgan Halberg

Archie Rand On the Irreducibility of Painting in a Digital Age

He remains convinced of the unique, imaginative and generative power of painting, which he believes no new technology will ever replace.

tuesday 4

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Why Sports Venues Are Betting Big on Fine Art

This fall, Sarah Sze's 'Wave' will be installed in the Barclays Center atrium, followed by large-scale paintings by Rashid Johnson and Mark Bradford.

tuesday 2

Observer

Daniel Grant

Jet Set: The Early Summer Beach Getaway Essentials Worth Packing

From a striped cotton sweater and leather thong sandals to a linen scarf and poplin dress, here's what we're loving and coveting right now.

tuesday 4

Observer

Morgan Halberg

The Exacting Nuance of Richard Diebenkorn

A great admirer of Matisse and Cézanne, this artist seemed to reinvent both.

tuesday 2

Observer

Dian Parker

The Rex Reed I Knew (1938–2026)

Rex Reed, fearless film critic who elevated the celebrity interview, dies at 87.

tuesday 3

Observer

Merin Curotto

10 Ambitious Gallery Shows to See During Frieze New York

As the city embarks once again upon its springtime marathon of fairs and marquee auctions, galleries across Chelsea, Tribeca, the Lower East Side and...

11.05.2026 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

‘Run, Don’t Walk’: Jensen Huang’s Message to College Graduates on A.I.’s Future

At Carnegie Mellon, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang tells graduates to embrace A.I. despite job fears and highlights new opportunities.

11.05.2026 4

Observer

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

Koyo Kouoh’s Venice Biennale Looks to Ancient Wisdom to Mend a Fractured Present

Again and again, the works return to what is ancient, universal and enduring: symbols, cosmologies and archetypes that precede cultural, national and...

11.05.2026 5

Observer

Elisa Carollo

At the 2026 NYCB Spring Gala, Fran Drescher, Hari Nef and Olivia Palermo Opined On the Power of Ballet

As always, the company's annual gala drew a glittering constellation of celebrities, philanthropists and arts advocates.

11.05.2026 3

Observer

Nadja Sayej

The 12 Best Public Golf Courses Within Two Hours of New York City—No Membership Required

From Metro-North-accessible municipal courses to a Tillinghast original on the Delaware, here's where to play this spring without the country-club...

11.05.2026 3

Observer

Paul Jebara

Exhibition as Experience: The Turn Toward Building Worlds, Not Walls

Art advisor Jennifer Findley of JFiN Collective considers how lighting, spatial choreography and archival material are increasingly defining what an...

11.05.2026 3

Observer

Jennifer Findley

A.I. Adoption Is Surging. Data Governance Is Not Keeping Up.

Trilateral Research’s Amelia Williams examines the gap between enterprise A.I. adoption and the quality of the data powering those systems. As...

11.05.2026 2

Observer

Amelia williams

Can Art Save Main Street? Some Small Towns Are Staking Their Futures On It

Billionaire Darla Moore, who grew up in Lake City before building a Wall Street fortune, has invested millions in transforming her hometown into a...

11.05.2026 6

Observer

Daniel Grant

50 Years After the Judgment Of Paris, California Wine Understands Its Worth

The tasting that established California as a serious wine region still shapes how Napa—and the broader New World—understands itself today.

11.05.2026 7

Observer

Caitlin White

Trust-Based Funding Works. So Why Are Artists Still Living in Precarity?

The Arts Foundation director Mary Jane Edwards makes the case that trust-based, unrestricted funding for artists is no longer an idealistic notion but...

09.05.2026 6

Observer

Mary jane edwards

ServiceNow’s Customer Chief Warns ‘Tokenmaxxing’ Is an A.I. Hype Cycle

Companies are spending heavily on A.I. tokens, but ServiceNow’s Chris Bedi says true ROI comes from efficiency gains, not raw usage metrics.

09.05.2026 9

Observer

Aaron Mok

Ryan Cohen’s ‘Sell on eBay to Buy eBay’ Stunt Puzzles Investors

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen grabs attention with an unsolicited bid to acquire eBay and then selling personal collectibles on eBay to fund the deal. But...

08.05.2026 10

Observer

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

Author Alexa Yasemin Brahme’s Best Books to Read When You Don’t Know What the Hell You’re Doing

The author of the newly released novel, Good News, shares the fiction and nonfiction titles that carried her through her own uncertainty—and just...

08.05.2026 5

Observer

Alexa yasemin brahme

How the ‘Godmother of Silicon Valley’ Celebrates Mother’s Day at 85

Esther Wojcicki shares her Mother’s Day routine, family life and the parenting approach behind her daughters’ success.

08.05.2026 7

Observer

Sissi Cao

The Newport Heiress Who Never Woke Up

Claus von Bülow invested in a Broadway play about a man who murders his rich wife for her inheritance. At the time, nobody found this particularly...

08.05.2026 5

Observer

Jennifer Ashley Wright

The Venice Biennale’s Most Powerful Pavilions Tune into Shared Consciousness

Amid protests, geopolitical tensions and the contradictions of the Biennale’s own structure, the most compelling pavilions leaned into ancestral...

08.05.2026 8

Observer

Elisa Carollo

Quantum Computing Is Testing Bitcoin’s Most Important Assumption

While post-quantum security standards and technical solutions are rapidly advancing, Quantus’ Chris Smith argues that Bitcoin’s network still...

08.05.2026 7

Observer

Christopher Smith

The Best Car-Free Spring Hikes Near New York City

Forget the rental and the Saturday 7 a.m. Avis line. Public transport covers every hike worth doing this spring—and the Hudson Valley is having a...

08.05.2026 10

Observer

Paul Jebara

One Fine Show: “Haegue Yang, Star-Crossed Rendezvous” at LA MOCA

The exhibition pairs the artist's direct response to composer Isang Yun's biography with her work inspired by Sol LeWitt, placing two very different...

08.05.2026 10

Observer

Dan Duray

An Hour Outside of Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula is a Dream Wine Destination

This vibrant agricultural region plays a big role in Melbourne’s world-class culinary scene, and has developed into a charming wine country within...

08.05.2026 8

Observer

Caitlin White